ephesians 4:16 says that "from him the whole body(church), joined and held together by every supporting ligament(members of the church), grows and builds itself up in love, as each part(a member of FHC) does its work."

i am encouraged by this passage because through our prayers, we can bring about support, growth, and healing into the Body of Christ. Thank you for your prayers.

Please pray for a close friend of mine who has recently been diagnosed with Cancer. He recently underwent a surgical procedure on his left hand for a simple carpal tunnel release. At the time of the procedure the surgeon discovered an abnormal mass of soft tissue in his left hand palm. The mass was confirmed to be a malignant and was identified as a very rare but aggressive soft-tissue Sarcoma. The doctors have all concurred that this cancer is not to be taken lightly and should be handled aggressively to give him the best chance of survival and they are recommending amputation of his left-hand along with several months of chemotherapy to give him the best possibility of out living this cancer.
They are taking this one day at a time and are relying on God to carry them through this difficult time in their lives.

We will pray for your friend. I hope God's peace that is beyond our understanding will comfort him during this time of trouble. Please let us know what we can do to help.

Please pray for all the men in our church that we may be loving, spiritual leaders in our homes. That we may have the strength to encourage our fellow brothers to keep "walking the walk" with one another and with coworkers.

my girlfriend's husband was diagnosed with melaloma, stage 4 a couple of years ago. with treatment, he was doing better but has recently gotten worse. please pray for him and the family. he has 3 young daughters.

Please pray for Jim, Katherine & his family... Jim recently went into E.R two days ago so please pray that he gets well fast... Thanks.

Please pray for my mom, cancer survivor of 8 years. X-rays reveal a suspicious finding in her lungs. Following additionally aggressive antibiotics, she will be x-rayed again this week to determine if pneumonia or if cancer testing is needed. [Desired to share this past Sunday but became overwhelmed with emotions upon hearing Sil share about the various types of cancer among friends surrounding her. Will attempt to speak up this Sunday without getting choked up.] Thank you!

Sandra, thank you for your courage in sharing this with the congregration. We'll defintiely pray that God will be with your mom and the doctor's for wisdom to accurately diagnose and idenitfy the appropriate treatment. Please continue to keep us posted

Please pray for TJ and Sue's daughter, Kelsey. She hurt her hand last Friday and had to undergo surgery yesterday. The surgery went well and the doctor is hopeful that she will make a full recovery. Please pray that she will have full use of her fingers and that recovery will be smooth and quick.

Edited by author 03-28-2008 06:30 PM
Update on my mom: The pulmonary specialist opines based on current x-ray images that it is not a tumor in her lungs. Following 6 more weeks of antibiotics, he will confirm whether the suspicious area has grown or remained the same. If larger, CT scan. If same or smaller, it can be assumed as non-cancerous. I will update again later. Thank you for your continued prayers for her and my family.

Our God is a faithful and loving God. He watches over us and cares for us. Especially in times of trouble, He is with us. Our God's promise is that "He will never leave us nor forsake us".

Deuteronomy 31:6
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

I awoke this morning after tossing and turning all night with the sun beating through the bedroom window. I am nearly in tears for putting myself through this turmoil I am feeling. I was trying to find my faith when I got lost into prescription medication. All that ended and I was living every day pill by pill. I am so scared to get out of this alone. I have no choice now but to stop. My family is aware and helping me through this. I never have been to church or even baptised for that matter. I am not even sure if GOD would want a screw up like me. I want to understand what it feels like for those I see full of joy after grouping together to share there faith in god. What do I do? Please pray for me?

Michael,

My name is Jim and am a member at First Harvest Chapel. I can relate to what you are going through. I recently had issues with anxiety/stress, panic attacks and insomnia. Couple months back, I slept approximately 3 hours in a 2 week time period...and ended up hospitalized in means to get stabilized. The drugs that were prescribed to me prior to my insomnia episode were anti-depressants (prozac) which actually made my condition worse. So I definitely feel your pain and your personal struggles at this point and I know what your family must be going through as well. I will personally pray for you and your family and our church will also be in prayer for all of you as well.

To answer your questions...God is gracious and merciful, he has a plan in each and everyone's life. He opens our eyes and our hearts in our time of turmoil and as we reach out to him through our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ, God will always be here for us...for everyone, regardless of what you may think of yourself. Jesus is always praying for us...so take comfort in knowing that God will never leave your side. He is listening and he is always near. I have been on prescripition drugs for the past couple months now...the doctors have diagnosed me as Bi-Polar and put me on 6 types of drugs from anti-depressants, anxiety pills, sleeping pills and anti-psychotics. But by the true Grace of God, I am completely off the medication and I took a leap of faith cutting my meds on my own terms believing that with Christ, everything is possible! There is certainly joy that comes from being part of a group of faithful believers, however the real joy comes from understanding God's love and surrending your life for his purpose.

As for what you should do? I know coming off of prescription medication is a hard thing and the "withdrawals" become more apparent and difficult to deal with, however, look at it as a positive thing. To be honest, those medications in the long term is not good for you physically and mentally. It is going to take time to heal and defeat this horrible situation you are going through...but take comfort in God, and know that there is always that door at the end of the tunnel, the light...hope.

You will be okay. I know it is hard to imagine now because what you are going through is something a lot of people do not understand, however, just know there are a lot of other people, like myself, that has gone through simliar situations in life and have overcome any fears. You are not alone...you have your family, friends, and most importantly, you have God who will never leave your side.

I will definitely be praying for you and your family each night...and feel free to contact me directly if you need someone to talk to or if you have any other questions. My email is jimnam@gmail.com.

Michael, you will get through this, it is never too late to believe and have faith in God. God created you in means to protect you and not harm you. Struggles and difficult times will come and go, but God is always constant and his love for us is unconditional. Hopefully we will here back from you soon on this forum. And you will be in our prayers!

Jim

Michael,

You say you are trying to find your faith. I encourage you to simply look to Jesus. The bible says "seek and you will find". Our doors are open for you and you are welcome to join us anytime.

We except you just as you are and I know that God's loving is extended to "screw ups" like you and me as well. God answered a similar prayer of mine years ago and I know that He will answer your pray of wanting to experience His joy and to be apart of His family. What you need to do is receive Jesus Christ in your heart TODAY. RIGHT NOW. The bible says, Today is the day of your Salvation Michael. Leave us your email and/or phone number and we can pray together.

Hello FHC,

Please be in prayer for my sister-in-laws family (Chris and Katie Vu). Their family has been sick off and on for the past few months now and it is taking a toll on all of them physically. Brandon, my nephew was taken to the ER tonite due to high fever and lack of response. Sydney and Emmy both have high fevers also. Please pray for healing, rest and comfort.
Thank you!

Michael,

Our prayers are with you. I'd like to reiterate what David wrote. It seems that you are reaching out and calling to God in your deepest need. Here is a prayer, adopted from the Calvary Chapel website, which asks Jesus to be your Savior. "Jesus, I know that I have sinned against You. I know the truth is that I have sinned by my own choice, and I am the one responsible for it. I know that I have earned punishment from You, and that the fair punishment would be death. Jesus, I believe that You died in my place. Forgive me for my sin. I cannot cover or take my sin away; I am relying totally and only on You. You are the only one who can save me. I reject my sin; I turn away from it and I repent. Come into my life, take away my sin, and show me how to live my life in a way that is right and pleasing to You." If you pray this prayer, you are saved!

Besides the Bible, I can recommend a couple of books that might be applicable for you. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis talks about the basic tenets that Christians believe in, regardless of their denomination. Know that it is only through the GRACE OF GOD that you are saved. Once you are saved, continue to look towards JESUS CHRIST and please do not be discouraged when you sin. We are imperfect beings and we will continue to sin, even after salvation. If we continuously remind ourselves of this, we will continue to approach GOD with a humble heart and ask him for his forgiveness and THANK him for his GRACE again and again, and again. if you fall from your path to GOD, do not be discouraged. You just have to keep on trying again and again to turn away from your sins. Throughout history, all Christians struggled with this.

The Optimistic Child by Martin Seligman and others is a great book which teaches parents a proven system for children to fight depression. This might be helpful to you. A major cause of depression is when we constantly think negative thoughts. You must try to fight off negative and defeating thoughts.

I strongly suggest that you seek help from those around you. You mentioned your family. Ask them to pray for you if they already haven't. Seek out those around you for prayers and guidance. Christian counselors, counselors and rehabilitation centers can also help you.

We are all screwups. And God is more concerned about spiritual sins than physical ones. These sins are both wrong, but one is more wrong than the other. We are all sinners and Jesus knows this and wants us to come to him with a humble, broken heart. Only then can we accept his Grace. So please do not be discouraged. Stop beating yourself over this. I know God loves you.